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Week of Oct 8 – 14
* Total Items in Store: 1079
* Items Sold: 17
* Cost of Items Sold: $36.34 + $73 Commission
* Total Sales: $485.34
* Highest Price Sold: $146 – 4 yds Blue wool crepe + coordinating lining & buttons
* Average Price Sold: $28.55
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $51.75
* Number of items listed this week: 25My highest sale was a commission. My highest non-commission sale was two mannequins to one person for $70 + $50. It was a local pickup, and I found that the mannequins will be used in an art exposition scheduled for the end of this year!
My parents were in town a little over a week ago, and they brought a huge amount of stuff. They and their friends use me as their dumping ground for things they no longer need. Not a problem! I still went to an auction on Thursday because I wanted to get out of the house. In general, though, I’m trying to not spend much on new inventory until I catch up.
Earlier in the week, my camera battery ran out of power, and I couldn’t find the other battery with the charger anywhere. So, I ordered a used OEM charger and battery for delivery this week, and then ordered a replacement brand that would be delivered earlier. So, I got the replacement on Thursday and was able to take photos on Friday. The used OEM set arrived early on Saturday, and then I found my original stuff on Sunday. I had plugged it in the guest room probably because I was using that room the last time I photographed stuff. Duh! I guess I am now triply protected against my absent-minded self.
Most of the books have multiples, and I didn’t have to take pictures. I just used Ebay’s stock photos. The only exception was the tarot card sets.
The labels have multiples. I think there were 14 different kinds.
The housewares are a mix, some with multiples and some not. For the multiples, the product is the same even if the box is messed up. I made sure to show a really beat up box and wrote that the buyer would receive a box that would be no worse than what was shown.
Yes, some of the food items are expired and some are in date. The auctioneer will say before he starts the bidding. The big buyers at these auctions have discount stores – I think mostly in NY.
The first lot I bought consisted of 13 boxes of books. They are remainders, and have a remainder mark, but are new. I bought them for the tarot card sets that I sold at great profit through the summer. There were a few other workbooks, song books, etc. that also did well. I’m left now with books that I’m mostly selling one at a time making just a few dollars each time. But, they are selling.
The second lot was boxes of labels for handmade clothing. I bought them mostly because they were so cheap – less than $9 for thousands of these labels. I thought that they would sell here and there, but not one has sold. I will list them on Esty eventually. If they don’t sell, I’m mostly out the time I spent on getting them listed.
Those two I bought at the beginning of the summer. In August, I bought my third lot, which consisted of Asian housewares. The items are new, but some of the boxes are beat up. I listed them about a month ago, and I did sell a tea cup set. I have a mishmash of items, and I think some will sell and some may end up as donations.
I just have to be more careful of what I buy at this auction. Plus I have to wait out the crowd that starts to thin out about half way through.
I’ll add one more thing to the list – it is possible to buy overstock/refused merchandise at auction for resale. One auction company near me sells this sort of stuff, and I’ve dabbled a bit in it.
I’ve done very well with one lot, not well at all with another (small investment, so no big deal), and the jury is still out on the last. I’m still interested in this auction and continuing to try out new things. I don’t know if there are similar auctions in other areas, but I can’t imagine that this one is unique.
10/12/2017 at 10:28 pm in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Turntable, Hockey helmet, Pipe stand, Paper doll books, Flashlight, LL Bean Duck Shoes #23832My interesting sales of the week:
Usually I get pretty beat up copper stuff at auction, but this pretty canapé tray was unused and protected. Paid $5.75, sold for $30:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182682752456I bought this Macy’s globe in an auction box lot for $1.25, sold for $49.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182514821101My big sale of the week was a very modern looking set of stainless steel flatware, service for 16. I bought it in an online auction for about $3. Looking back at the auction listing, the contents weren’t highlighted very well, and so I got a very good deal. Sold for $149:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182481347652During the summer, I sold a number of new tarot card & book sets that I had bought at an auction. Unfortunately, they came with 13 boxes of other miscellaneous books. One way I thought to move these other books faster was to sell them in larger lots. I have had five different lots listed for about two months, and finally one sold for $26. Cost of the books is $3. I may end up donating much of the remaining ones next year.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182693148873I was considering the 450 vs the 450 4XL and whether all I needed was the skinny labels. The 4XL is significantly more expensive. When I was doing my research, I read on one website that the skinny labels are no longer accepted by the post office for packages, only letters and flat packages. I don’t know whether that is true or not, but I opted for the 4XL based on that.
Not too long ago, I sold three artsy menorahs to the same guy, but in the beginning of the summer! It is not the Jewish tradition to decorate the home significantly during Chanukah, so you won’t find too much other than menorahs and dreidels. The ones that I have listed that aren’t particularly unusual do not sell as well.
From what I read on the forum, vintage Christmas ornaments, wrapping paper, and certain lighted plastic display pieces do very well.
Although an item is more likely to sell a month or two before the actual holiday, they sell any time of the year. So buy and list them when you can. You should list a few months early if possible. Halloween stuff might be a bit late at this point, but you never know.
Exactly what Mike said plus you should remove the word Cutco from your description as well. Does anyone know if a photo showing the brand name is a problem?
The letter states “the first sale doctrine does not apply”. I think that they mean that you have a right by law to resell a product, but not when you violate their copyright/trademark rights. You still have a right to resell it, but it will be hard to do that and follow their demands.
Here is the definition of the first sale doctrine from Wikipedia:
The first-sale doctrine is a legal concept playing an important role in U.S. copyright and trademark law by limiting certain rights of a copyright or trademark owner. The doctrine enables the distribution chain of copyrighted products, library lending, giving, video rentals and secondary markets for copyrighted works (for example, enabling individuals to sell their legally purchased books or CDs to others). In trademark law, this same doctrine enables reselling of trademarked products after the trademark holder put the products on the market. The doctrine is also referred to as the “right of first sale,” “first sale rule,” or “exhaustion rule.”
The first-sale doctrine is one of the limitations and exceptions to copyright.
Week of Oct 1 – 7
* Total Items in Store: 1071
* Items Sold: 17
* Cost of Items Sold: $28.81 + $6.30 Commission
* Total Sales: $510.03
* Highest Price Sold: $149.25 Service for 16 flatware NIB
* Average Price Sold: $30
* Returns: 0
* Money Spent on New Inventory This Week: $0
* Number of items listed this week: 1I had a very nice week of sales; a number of high priced sales really helped.
We threw a family event this weekend, so last week was focused on cleaning & organizing. I only listed one item that I had put off from the previous week. We still have a couple of guests in from out of town that leave Tuesday. I will be listing, but probably not to the normal level.
I bought a used Dymo 4XL, which I am now using. I much prefer the label and size, but I am finding that switching between the Dymo for labels and my regular printer for packing lists to be a pain. Also, I can’t do multiple labels at one time. I haven’t researched solutions yet because of the busy weekend, but I will this week. I guess I still like it better. My purchase included an Accutek scale that goes to 50 pounds, which is also a big improvement over what I had been using.
I can copy a shorter link by doing the following:
I go to my “Manage All Orders” page. I find the item I want to post, hover over the item title in the “Purchase details” column, right click, and pick “Copy Link Address”.
Then I go to the forum post where I want to paste the link and paste.
That process ends up in a much shorter link than if you go to the listing and copy the full address.
10/05/2017 at 9:23 am in reply to: What Sells On eBay: Lamps, models, Army field jacket, Crock, boots, tapes, hats, Koi dishes #23625Steve – I follow your sales on eBay, and I had noticed those unique lamps that sold right after your cutoff for last week’s video. I had to wait a week to hear about them!
Here are a few interesting ones of my own:
I continue to sell measurement equipment that my husband’s company was about to throw out. This torque watch gauge sold for $39.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182762848376These pants had been my father’s. Now they are on their way to Israel through the GSP. Sold for $26 minus shipping to KY.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182459718145Here’s my biggest sale: A friend was cleaning out his storage and gave me some vintage electronics. This lot consists of 11 zip disks and 2 untested zip drives (I didn’t have the equipment to test them). Sold for $56 to the UK through the GSP.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182593211707This last sale was interesting for 3 different reasons. 1. Who knew that vintage Sears vacuum cleaners were so popular? In the 10 days it was listed, it got over 340 views. I have things listed for over a year that have less than 20 views! 2. I bought it in an online auction at the minimum bid. It cost me $0.55, and I still have a vintage Detecto bathroom scale listed from that lot. 3. People have mentioned this, but this is the first time it has happened to me. He first made an offer of $25, but then bought it at full price of $36 about 15 min later.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/182779027480The place I go to is called Bodner’s, which is located in Edison, NJ. It’s definitely considered part of the NJ/NY/CT metro area. Edison itself is rather built up.
https://www.bodnarsauction.com/
My only hesitation is that I buy some good stuff there really cheap. I’d rather try my luck with eBay than sell this print for cheap. But, like I said, I don’t go to the higher end rooms, and I usually leave in the early afternoon before my kids get home.
Mike – Thanks for the confirmation. I enjoy learning, investigating, and problem solving, so the process to figure this one out was very interesting.
For the print with the yellowing, I will just re-frame it with the cheap matt. The damage is done. I only paid $5 for it, so I should still be able to make good money.
I took a class in framing many years ago, and I do remember learning about acid-free materials, how to cut matts, make frames, etc. I’ll go and buy that special tape. I’ll also need some double-side archival-type tape for a few mounted art pieces I purchased (3-D layered type) that are also moving around in their frames.
For the print engraving, I will contact my regular auction house and see what they say. I’m always in their box lot area where things go in bulk for cheap. However, they sell higher end items in other rooms. I’ll have to make a judgement call on whether it is the right auction house or not. I will be there on Oct 12 for their discovery sale.
I do see similar items listed, including ones listed for $400 or more, but none at that price point that sold, at least not for the past three months.
OK – Sorry that I wasn’t able to post this until today. We have a family event coming up this weekend, and I’ve been busy with last minute planning.
I pulled apart the frame & print and took several photos. Here they are:
https://imgur.com/a/pIYxQI did find the embossing Mike mentioned – I took several photos showing the ridge along the edge (which was behind the matt when framed).
I tried to take a few photos up close with a strong flashlight showing areas where I could actually see (and feel) slight ridges to the ink.
I also showed the paper itself and some of the aging spots (I assume mold?).
Another important detail is the left hand side is not straight. It appears to be cut. I think that Habnab hit it on the spot – this was a page in a book of engravings that someone cut out and framed. Still late 18th century, and I believe a intaglio print per Mike’s links and descriptions. Thanks so much Habnab for the great investigative work!
Also – Someone posted about value in this topic, but I don’t see the comment now. But, in response, I know that something old doesn’t mean it is valuable. I bought some ironstone / transfer-ware last year. I wasn’t so surprised at the reasonable/low prices, but I was very surprised that almost all of it was over 100 years old!
Back on topic: Now I will need to reassemble the framing. This leads to another question. I will need to remove the tape and then re-tape it back onto the matt. I did some research and Lineco linen tape appears to be the correct neutral PH / acid-free tape required for art. Comments?
And, sort of off-topic again, I have a vintage print that someone framed in a non-acid free matt. The print has a yellowed border along the matt edge. Then, the tape loosened on one side, and the print moved creating a second skewed yellowed border. In spite of all this, it is a nice print from a known artist with a low number. Is there any way to remove the yellowed lines? I assume not.
It’s blank for me too. I assume this function would be more for someone who sells commodity items with many of each in stock.
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